Rich: What the Eagles Drafting WR Makai Lemon Means for AJ Brown’s Future in Philadelphia

The Eagles drafting USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, plus second-round picks Bell and Morris on the offensive line, has Rich reading the move as the beginning of the end for A.J. Brown in Philadelphia. The clip opens with a Philadelphia caller ribbing the show for under-covering the Eagles class and warning that the Cowboys, by trading down, helped Philly get there. 'Pass mode AJ Brown, y'all going to have to come out of y'all pockets big time,' the caller said. 'That's what's next.'

Rich agreed that compensation is the next domino. 'If you're going to get Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown, then you are clearly clearing the decks to move on from AJ Brown and have three guys new to the system,' Rich said. 'Which puts it all on Jalen Hurts again. New system, new guy, new everything again for him.' Rich pointed out that the only offensive coordinator Hurts has had in consecutive years since college is Shane Steichen, who left after two seasons in Philadelphia, and that Hurts has cycled through a new coordinator every year since.

The trade itself, between two teams that famously do not like each other, drew a now-viral Jerry Jones quote that the show ran in full. 'If you eliminate all the teams that I want to beat their ass, you wouldn't have anybody to trade with,' Jones said. 'And so yeah, Philadelphia has a certain edge to it. But you could always rationalize and say, well, I'd like to have some success with that trade. And at the end of the day, I got a bigger grin out of it than they did.'

The show then pivoted to New England, which moved up three spots to take Caleb Lomu out of Utah, raising questions about last year's first overall pick Will Campbell after his playoff struggles. Rich argued the position assignment matters less than the unit. 'If this kid can be the tackle you want for Drake Maye and then you get him to be as upright as possible for AJ Brown to get open, it doesn't matter,' Rich said, floating Lomu at left tackle with Campbell kicking inside to guard. He compared the potential pairing to Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson in Seattle, the line that powered Shaun Alexander's MVP season and a Super Bowl run on a run game everyone saw coming. As for what Howie Roseman gets back for Brown, Rich was direct. 'Will New England give up a one for AJ Brown? Cuz that's what Howie's going to be holding out for. He ain't getting it.'